1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and device for the determination of caries, plaque or bacterial infection in teeth.
2. Prior Art
As is known, caries in teeth can be detected by visual inspection or through the employment of X-rays. However, with a visual inspection, satisfactory results often cannot be achieved, since for example caries at an early stage or at a difficult to inspect tooth region cannot be determined. Because of the damaging effects of X-rays on human health, inspection with the aid of X-rays is not optimal.
There has thus been proposed a contactless investigation method for the determination of caries in teeth in which the tooth is irradiated with a virtually monochromatic light source. Due to the irradiation of the tooth with monochromatic light, a fluorescence radiation is excited at the tooth, whereby the fluorescence spectrum manifests clear differences between carious and healthy tooth regions. On the basis of the detected fluorescence spectrum of a tooth to be investigated, a healthy tooth region can thus be unambiguously distinguished from a carious tooth region. Corresponding dental devices for the recognition of caries are known for example from DE 30 31 249 C2, DE 42 00 741 A1 and DE 93 17 984 U1.
With the aid of such devices it can, however, only be determined whether the investigated tooth is carious or not. In the case of a carious tooth, with the known devices, for example a corresponding optical or acoustic indication is given. However, at a tooth recognised as carious, the degree of the caries attack can vary. After completion of the investigation it is however desirable to find again that location of the tooth which has the greatest degree of caries attack, in order to be able to treat the corresponding tooth location. This, however, is not possible with the known devices.